MSI for gaming laptop?

I was just wondering if anyone could recommend what brand to look for when purchasing a quality laptop. I know Asus makes awesome motherboards but Im not sure about laptops. I like the MSI GT72 with 4xSSD's in raid mode which should be pretty quick. If anyone can help thank you!

Go with MSI, Asus or Lenovo

This. I don't have experience with Lenovo gaming laptops but ASUS and MSI do pretty good models. Alienware are also good machines but you pay more for the brand.

As for buying something like 4xSSD's in RAID, you're wasting your money, that's ridiculous. A single SSD will do and a good video card + CPU + RAM to back it up.

MSI makes quite decent laptops indeed. And like someone else stated, Asus, Lenovo or MSI are some of the more durable brands Ive seen (ofcourse they all make low class cheap pieces of junk aswell, but the higher end lappys are quite good).

As for the 4 SSD's I can't help but ask... why?

Quad SSD (especially when it's configured like that from the factory) is unnecessarily expensive. Only problem with the MSIs is that if you purchase a non-RAID unit they load it with a different BIOS which makes enabling RAID later problematic. Besides that, MSI makes some really solid and high performing gaming laptops for much less money (and weight) than Alienware. I had an Alienware MX17R2 that I replaced with an MSI GS70 (the GTX 765 model). Performance of the 765 against the dual AMD 5870s in the Alienware was pretty close to being the same, but the new laptop was half the weight and less than half the size. The latest models use 800 series Nvidia cards for the same price. I advised a buddy of mine to buy a GT70 with an 800 series for about 1100 and he's very happy with it.

Edit: Side note, here's my bootup time on the GS70 with a single msata drive (no raid). As you can see, it's plenty fast:

-Byshop

@Byshop: Thank you as for the others as well. The main reason I was leaning toward the GT72 model was the dual fan configuration. I personally think one fan for gaming may not be enough. Do you have any over heating issues when gaming? This will be my first laptop so I wanted to go all out without getting ridiculous. Alienware is definitely not an option as they are way over priced. The model Im looking at has the GTX 880m. I don't plan on upgrading so whatever I get is going to have to last for a while. The only thing is Im not sure of the Blu Ray drive as far as the speed. I get a little frustrated with slow installs when installing a game.

May want to hold off for just a bit if you can as Nvidia just announced they're launching its GeForce GTX 970M and 980M notebook GPUs. More powerful and more efficient than their 800M series.

It gets warm but it never overheats. Mine is a "slim" model so the cooling is generally less efficient, but I've never had a problem with it although gaming with it on your lap is uncomfortable due to the heat output. Upgrading on most laptops (with few exceptions) is pretty much always out unless you're talking RAM or Hard Drives. GPUs and CPUs often are non-swappable components in all but the largest laptops.

-Byshop

@joseph_mach: Thanks for the heads up! I found the available laptop with the GTX980m. I was reading about the performance and they were saying even the more taxing games with everything turned up the GTX980m holds above 30fps. That gives me piece of mind so Im glad I didn't jump last month and had to wait. Looks like its going to be an awesome year for laptop gaming. Although its going to break the bank but its my first laptop so it will be worth it. I just want a laptop that can handle whatever I throw at it. But at the same time the Alienware with 16GB of video memory is way out of my reach. I wouldn't ever pay that for a laptop. lol

I've seen bad review for MSI laptops.

I would personally go with Lenovo Y series or Asus ROG series laptops.

I've had my Lenovo Y500 for almost 2 years now, and it's still working like a charm.

@tonyx429: I was originally interested in Asus only as I liked the dual fan set up along with the overall looks but MSI comes with 8GB of video RAM as for Asus only comes with 4GB. Do you know if Asus makes a laptop with 8gb of video RAM? And as far as price my limit is $2899 and that's pushing it for my budget.

What kind of question is that? either buy the laptop that you like and add another 4Gb of SODIMM or buy other Asus laptop with 8Gb of RAM, I don't think anyone is selling nowdays gaming laptop or any laptop above 500$ with less than 8Gb of RAM.

@PredatorRules: Im just talking about video memory being 8GB. As far as RAM I think the laptop that Im looking at has 32GB of RAM. Even the Asus for $2999 only has 4GB of video memory.

Why the hell would you even need 8Gb of video memory? just don't tell me you're getting 4K display on a 17' laptop monitor.

@PredatorRules: I just thought that 8 GB of video would be safe. Alienware has a laptop with 16GB of video memory which in my opinion is overkill. I just want to make sure that any and all games run at no less than 30fps with everything turned up. I want something that can run games like Project Cars and Call of Duty.

There's no such thing as 16Gb of VRAM. The highest is Titan Z with 12Gb and no one is crazy enough to put it inisde a laptop.

4Gb of VRAM is plenty for a 17' laptop - since most likely the 1080p is the most suitable resolution for it's size.

@PredatorRules: Your WRONG Alienware runs SLI 16 GB of VRAM.

hahaha Not sure if serious or a troll.

Wrong? maybe you should check how VRAM works with SLI/Crossfire

@PredatorRules:

Don't bother, read his other topic and you'll understand what type of person he is.

Yeah...

@PredatorRules: @PredatorRules: They were right about this site. A bunch of idiots on here that cant even afford a PSVITA but yet they know everything. I have PS4, XBone, $5000 desktop $3000 laptop and I make in an hour what you make in a day. I really hate to be a dick but this site is so full of morons. Get a fuckin job children!

Pfttt, you've snapped nicely, if you're so rich and you don't care about money, why don't you go to the store and get recommendation from the seller for a sh^tty tech with overpriced tag instead of coming to this forum?

@PredatorRules: I didn't snap. I treat people accordingly. You act like a dick than I will treat you like one. I wont guess your age but you have MUCH to learn. See its pretty much the same reason. Your a hater and when your successful you really don't want to be in public surrounded by haters like yourself. Just a little safety precaution.

I did my best using my knowledge to help you out and tip you; if you like my advice use it, if not so be it.

Also try not to brag about money, and there's difference between knowing stuff (reading and learning) and not having them compared to having stuff and not understanding how they work - best example Apple products owners.

Rimac, this is a discussion for adults, go along and play with your toys..

@RimacBugatti:

As far as I know Asus Republic of Gamers laptops have at least 12gb RAM. The least I've seen it have was 12GB ram. You can do a search on amazon. I've heard that these laptops were very good for gaming.

@tonyx429: Thanks! Asus looks to be built to run pretty cool which is my biggest concern. I was looking at a GT70 but saw that it only had a single fan.

I would get an MSI or ASUS laptop. Go for GTX 980M to be future proof since, you can't really upgrade laptop that much besides simple stuff (like SSD and RAM).

I believe he's talking about VRAM.

@joecostaa: Thank you very much! That makes me more comfortable in my decision making your help and everyone else's help. I'm not sure about Company of Heroes but they were saying that even with that game which they consider to be taxing the GTX 980m pushes it past 30 fps with everything turned up. I admit the Asus looks great but the MSI has a great looking keyboard and the extra 4 GB of VRAM isn't bad either. MSI for the money seems to offer the most under the hood from what I have seen. I'm pretty excited as I should be getting it next month if all goes well.

@joecostaa: Oh cool I had no idea it was the thinnest and lightest. Yeah all in all it seems that I had my eye on a good brand. That definitely sounds like the deal breaker for me as well. I looked at some of the other laptops and they did look very bulky indeed. My question to you is what Antivirus should I go with. I'm not worried about affordability as much as integrity. I was using Trend Micro and an Anti Malware on my desktop which was pretty awesome.

@RimacBugatti: If you want a good paid Anti-Virus go with either ESET Nod32, or Kaspersky.

I have been using NOD32 for almost a decade now. It has been fantastic!

@Lach0121: Ok thanks I didn't even know NOD32 existed.

ESET NOD32 indeed!

@joecostaa: Thanks alot! When it comes to using an Antivirus I'm not worried about the price because it's worth protecting against all the garbage out there. My stepdad went the cheap route and just used the Windows provided Antivirus and now his computer is running horribly. We have tried PC matic and it doesn't work. Since it will be my first laptop and I don't want to have to work on it or anything I'm going to be very cautious when using it. I know that even the secure sites are loaded with viruses. It's very difficult these days to have a computer that doesn't get infected. My dad actually uses Kaspersky and he still managed to get a virus we think. Computer runs horrible but it may just be overheating.

@joecostaa: It's one of the monitor and PC combined so I know they run warmer. His fan is constantly on high so it has to be overheating for sure. Not to mention he keeps it in a cabinet. He's had someone clean it professionally but it's still running like crap.